Mars Defends!

Summary: The President of Mars is faced with the decision of her career. Should she bend to the pressure from her war council, or find ways to make peace with Earth?

Mars Defends!

“This is
an act of war!” The Admiral thumped the table, two pencils tectonically shifted
2cms to the right. “We MUST take ARMS!”

“Yes!” confirmed the Colonel, from the other side of
the wide conference table. “Their grasp is extending their reach, they are
getting too far ahead of themselves!”

“As are you,” said the President as she entered the
War Chamber with several assistants heliocentrically gravitating around her. The 12
top military commanders who comprised the War Council all rose to attention as
the most powerful being on Mars took her position at the head of the table.

“I am glad you got started without me, now, if you
wouldn’t mind going right back to the beginning again, and we will all be
calming down!” They sat when she sat.

The Admiral cleared his throat, “Madam President, we
have to inform you of a serious threat to homeland security. A threat which we believe
poses a greater risk to Mars than the potential re-invasion of the Satyrs!”

The President frowned sternly. “You have my attention
Admiral. What is this threat?”

The Admiral cleared his throat. “Humans, Madam
President.”

“Humans?” She said the word is if it were the first
time she had ever heard it.

“Humans.” Confirmed the Admiral seriously.

“Admiral,” asked the President unable to believe her
ears. “We are talking about the same species, aren’t we? Those monkey-minded little fools’ on
Earth?”

“We are.” Said the Admiral fiercely.

The president paused and tried to make sense of what
she had just heard. “Have they made some advancement I am not aware of? The
last time I had any reports from that water-logged zoo the humans were still
getting excited about predicting weather!”

“All due respect, Ma’am,” Said the Admiral, pulsing
like a nuclear threat. “But they have been spying on us with their roaming
camera technology since 1965! And they got to the moon!”

“Admiral,”
Conjectured the President sternly. “I think you are underlining my point,
here. The moon is hardly more than
a daytrip from Earth! Only humans would think rocket science is difficult!
Secondly, referring to that space junk they have floating around our planet’s
surface as ‘technology’ is like referring to the contents of a landfill site as
‘art’. I think I need a little more convincing of this ‘threat’ before
launching the fleet into a full invasion.”

“Very well,” said the Admiral removing three
photographs from a brown file in front of him. “Perhaps you should have a look
at these Madam President.”

The Admiral passed the photographs across to his
President.

She glanced through them. “What is this?”

“A human probe, Madam President. Potentially lethal.”

“This?” She did all she could to repress her laughter.
“This is a toy robot, Admiral, my son has one of these.”

“But I doubt your sons toy came from Earth, Madam President.”

“And we are sure this did?” She said, dismissively throwing
the photographs across the table.

“We are.” Said the Admiral standing his ground. “It
was found upon the planets surface and it has human writing upon it. Our
linguistic department has translated four letters, NASA. We are as yet to
decide what this word means, but if we do not take this as an act of war we may
live to regret it.”

The President sighed and unconvinced sigh, sometimes
it was impossible to take the martial out of the Martian. “And you agree with
these reports, Colonel?” She asked, deferring to new council.

“I do,” said the Colonel stoically. “One cannot forget
what happened with the Satyrs!”

The President widened her eyes. “Colonel, the Satyrs
have trans-warp capabilities and have weaponized black-hole technology. The
humans are still struggling to find a way to make telephone calls in tunnels.
Am I the only one in this room to see the slight disparity in risk here?”

“In risk, perhaps, but not in intention Madam
President.” Said the Colonel briskly.

The President raised herself. “Intention? And what
intention can you deduce, precisely, from this malaise of slingshot amateurs? They
haven’t even begun to plunge to the bottom of their own seas! Our ancestors
inhabited this planet long before the dinosaurs of Earth, so why should I be
afraid of the intentions of these sleepwalking carbon bipeds now?”

“All due respect, Madame President, but why would they
probe us if they were not intending to invade?”

The President was stumped on this point. Her
predecessor had ignored the warning signs with the Satyrs, which resulted in a
long and bloody four-year war. Her election relied on her promise to keep the
peace, but her council were taking no more chances.

She concluded,
“ I need more evidence. How do we know this is nothing more than a peaceful
gesture?”

“Because, Madam President” stated the Colonel bluntly,
“this species would not know a peaceful
gesture if it bought them a drink at a bar! Since their first flyby not so
many moons ago, I have been watching this race closely, learning of its
history, observing its conduct. You are not going to like what I have to
report.” He took a long drink of water and continued.

“There is a tale in Earth’s history that tells of an
explorer who found a land called America. No one from this explorer's home believed America existed, they thought this pioneer was insane to travel so far from home. But he sailed the seas for months and months until and incredible stroke of luck delivered him to the alien shore. The moment he set foot on this land he claimed it for his King, having no idea this land was already occupied by peaceful native
warriors who had lived there for thousands of years.”

He let the similarities of the tale soak in to his
audience, and continued. “Time passed, and travelers following in the
explorer’s footsteps landed on the new American shore in droves wanting to make a new life for themselves, but when they arrived it was winter. They would
have surely died out in two generations if the peaceful warrior natives hadn’t shown
them such gracious hospitality, sharing their food and survival skill...”

“Well,”
interrupted the President. “That hardly seems like the kind of people we need
to be afraid of.”

“Allow me to finish Madam President. The new Arrivals
in America became known as the White men. And the White men, once established
in America, did not rest until each and every one of the native people who
helped them settle were systematically destroyed. They poisoned them with lies,
false agreements and alcohol, hunted and massacred their livestock and killed
millions of women and children. Now all that is left of the beautiful native
culture is a few casinos and gift shops. The worse thing about this story is
that today the new White men of America, instead of showing shame at their
ancestors’ brutality, celebrate their hypocrisy in a yearly holiday they call thanksgiving.”

Every member of the council sat in cold, horrified
silence.

“Is that true?” Asked the President.

“Every word,” confirmed the Colonel. “If they do that
to members of their own species, imagine what they would do to a species that
was alien to them!”

The president was beginning to feel persuaded by the
human threat. “Not even the Satyrs would stoop that low.”

“This is not the only story of holocaust littering the
human history books. Today, millions upon millions of humans are being killed,
torture, maimed and tyrannised by the few that hold power.”

“But why?” Asked the President.

“I believe it is because they are a rampant virus
without a cure.” The Colonel could not curb his dyspepsia. “However, they seem
to think it happens because of God’s Will.”

“Who is God’s Will?” Asked the President with a sudden
new interest in her potential adversaries.

“Ah,” admitted the Colonel. “This is where it starts
to get a bit tricky.” There was no way he could say what he was about to say
without appearing foolish and dramatic.
“Some of the humans believe that everything in this universe, and all
life, is the creation of an invisible omnipotent giant called God. They believe
it took him six days to make everything, and then as you would imagine, on the
seventh day he rested. Why they
would choose to worship him and call him forth on his day off remains a
mystery, yet, every Sunday they gather in buildings and tell stories and sing
songs about what he can do.”

“And what can he do?” Asked the President as perplexed
as a village idiot.

“Well, that’s really up to how you please him. There
is another red giant that they are all afraid of and they call him the Devil.
If you do what the Devil wants you to do, then God will be unhappy and bad
things will happen to you. Apparently, according to human myth, these giants
fell out a long time ago and haven’t seen eye-to-eye since.”

The President had now heard it all. “Surely those in
power don’t believe such nonsense.”

“Actually, it’s pretty hard to get into a position of
power if you don’t believe this. They believe it is the will of this invisible
giant to put certain people in power.”

“Why?”

“So they can fight the Devil with him, Ma’am.”

“But, I thought they believed he could do anything?”

The Colonel paused. “Apparently he needs their help
with this. ”

The President was flabbergasted. “Surely,” she
insisted, “they must be conspiring in a joke! How on Mars did they come to
these ridiculous conclusions otherwise?”

“Because of books, Madam President. Books that their
even-more primitive ancestors wrote in times when it was believed that their
world was flat and slavery was OK.”

The President took a moment. “You have convinced me
that these ignorant beings are a threat to themselves, Colonel. But with
beliefs like these it is going to take them one million years to get to Mars,
and probably another 500 years to find where we are on the planet. Martian
children need not fear tonight. I think we need a five minute recess.”

As the council took a breather, a deputy Martian
entered the chamber carrying a large duffle bag and approached the Wing
Commander. The Wing Commander had
been silent throughout the proceedings, but the arrival of the bag was soon to put
an end to that. His assistant handed him the bag and a file, saluted, and left
the chamber.

The President reconvened the council.

The Wing Commander’s raised his hand and the President
recognized his request to take the floor. “You have something to add to this
debate Commander?”

“I do.” Said the Commander, standing to an exclamation
point. “So far we have heard the depths of the depravity that humans can stoop
to. We have believed that their threat was localized, and provincial. But Madam
President, I have some new found evidence that may bring an extra dimension to
this story.” He paused for effect then continued, emptying the contents of the
duffle bag out onto the table. The council were not sure how to respond.

“What are those?” asked the President leaning in to
examine the evidence.

“This propaganda, which for some unknown reason the
humans call ‘blockbuster DVD’ out lines clearly their ominous intent! Many
Martians have lost their lives smuggling what the humans’ call ‘home
entertainment’ out of Earth. I have had many more Martians working around the
clock to try and decode this material, and from their findings I have taken the
liberty of putting together a small holo-report for the council’s assessment.
But may I warn you, some of the images may seem ridiculous.”

The lights in the wide chamber dimmed, and a clear
Holographic image from War of the Worlds appeared. “My agents tell me this human is called Tom Cruise. He
alongside various other humans such as Wil Smith, are now considered as Public
Enemies of the Martian State! This file,” he said, presenting the document his
aid had passed him moments earlier. “Contains a list of 100 names, each of them
highly trained and well groomed ringleaders in what I consider to be a plot to annihilate
life on Mars.”

All council members watched as a series of stills from
action films were presented to them.

The President raised her hand. The Commander paused
the show. “Please, Wing Commander, I am a little unclear as to where the
lizard-creatures are supposed to come from.”

“This is how the humans believe we look, Madam President.”

“Are they serious?” Asked the President, scrunching
her face in disgust. “If my stylist saw that he would want me to bomb them for defamation!”

“Indeed,” said the Wing Commander allowing himself to
smile. “This is just one of the tricks of the trade as far as propagandists are
concerned ma’am. Make the enemy appear grotesque, and the population will get
behind their extermination. Our own council, if you remember, took the same
approach with the Satyrs.”

“Indeed,” said the President shamefully.

The Wing Commander pressed on. “However ma’am, on a
more serious note, somehow the humans have found out exactly what our military capabilities are. In every single clip,” he
flicked quickly through several stills to illustrate his point “They have managed to piece together
top-secret developmental projects in both early and pre-developmental stages.
They have images that are so exact we are staggered at the accuracy of their
replication.”

“How is that possible?” Asked the Colonel.

The Wing Commander stared dead into the Colonel’s
eyes. “I can only assume that they have spies among us already.”

The thought had not crossed any of the Council’s
minds, the atmosphere in the room hardened to marble as new lights began to
dawn. The President gulped, “do
you have someone looking into this?”

“Several
someone’s Madam President! Rest assured, if there is a human to be found we
will rat it out and race it back to where it came from in five million pieces!”

“And if it is an inside job?” Asked the Admiral as the
lights raised.

The question was left hanging as all eyes fell on the
President. “If a Martian wanted to overthrow this government, Admiral, I can
think of stronger allies to reach out to.” She had never fallen victim to peer
pressure in her life. “Your evidence is persuading Wing Commander, I do agree
something must be done. But do you really think the human’s could conquer us in
battle? Even with our specs, they can’t surely believe Tom Cruise would be able
to stop us?”

The Commander almost pleaded. “Forgive me Madam
President, but isn’t this precisely what the Satyrs did before they launched
their attack? Didn’t we highly underestimate them and consider them to be harmless?
While they were developing their armies on the one hand, they were signing our
treaty with the other! Imagine how many Martian lives may have been saved if we
had acted on our hunches sooner!”

The President gave serious pause. “Very well. But I will not condone a
full-blown invasion, our response must be proportional, I do not spit on a rock
and expect a waterfall to land on my head!”

She paused. Her thoughts were deep and personal and
far out of the reach of any of her council for three minutes. They waited, swapping glares and nostril
flares.

The President composed herself dutifully. “Do you have
any particular target in mind, Wing Commander?”

“I do.”
Said the Commander reassuringly. “Highly trained agents have discovered where the
cell responsible for these blockbuster DVD’s is located. I suggest we cut this
propaganda machine down at the root and show them we mean business. If they
fail to heed that advice, then we attack in full force.”

The Colonel and the Admiral both nodded in agreement.

“Very well,” said the President. “What is our target?”

“It is a place called Hollywood, Madam President. As
luck would have it they are holding a ceremony for some Golden God they call
Oscar tomorrow night, all of the targets on our list will be attending.” Said
The Wing Commander.

“I want this done quietly, and effectively. Do I make
myself clear? Not a single Martian is to know of it, absolutely no leaks to the
press, on pain of banishment! I want this Hollywood silenced so we can try and
live happily for some time after!”

“Yes Madam President, I have two elite squadrons
waiting your command. Just say the word and Hollywood will be gone.”

She paused. “Do it.”

And it was done.

Write a Review
Did you enjoy my story? Please let me know what you think by leaving a review! Thanks,
Vixee

jacquelinedepedro:
I can really see in my mind the small lake community, the colorful boats, the cottages, the lake, the tiny shops in town - an entire gamut of images made real to me by the author. I can feel how they feel, taste what they taste, smell what they smell - all marks of a good writer👍. A romantic at h...

VictimOfMyFeelings:
This story is too amazing. Every single detail is spectacular. The plot is very detailed and well planned. The writing style is powerful and at the same time easy to understand. Not to mention that it is edited and doesn’t have grammar mistakes.

Sana Salman:
Simple and too short but gripping. The awakening and prom pushed me into my childhood and now I'm gonna watch Disney's cute animation once again! The thing I like about author, is the writing style. There's not much exaggeration and the story is simply to point. A nice little read if you're fed u...

Rage Stone:
This is very nice and beautiful story....and I would love to read but apart of reading its very confusing not that much but little bit....but yeah it's very cute and joy full story.......but make it more interesting.... I love your writing too.

Bright_as_the_stars:
Being instantly thrown into drama, romance, and crazy friendship goals, this is a read that will keep you up at night, that'll make you scream in excitement - and clench your hair in frustration. The writing is clean and easy to read while also dabbling in colourful descriptions, and the charact...

Kady Nason:
Damn I love this book. It caught my attention from the start. I love the characters and the setting. It's just great. I really hope you update soon. I'm so impatient to find out what happens next lol.

Other Collections

About Us:

Inkitt is the world’s first reader-powered book publisher, offering an online community for talented authors and book lovers. Write captivating stories, read enchanting novels, and we’ll publish the books you love the most based on crowd wisdom.